


Relief

by pressedinthepages



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, nameless mage being a Grade A Dick, softe witcherses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29548968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pressedinthepages/pseuds/pressedinthepages
Summary: Eskel finds himself in a bit of a bind without a soul nearby to help. Or...so he thinks.
Relationships: Eskel/Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	Relief

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TubbyTomatooO](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TubbyTomatooO/gifts).



> Reader Request: [Hiya! I’m not uh sure if your still taking requests or not and I’m not entirely sure if this is the place that I should be making a request? But uhm I had an idea that like Hurt +Comfort where Eskel is being held captive somewhere/ being hurt n stuff and like Geralt rescues his bf bc there really isn’t enough whump of Eskel and Geralt being the knight in shining armour we all know he is.or enough of Eskel being loved by his family ( also I just love the feels lmao) Take care! Dee xx] Ok first of all I am so sorry that this took so McFreakin' long to write. I just got a promotion at work recently (yay!) so my hours have doubled and there has been a bit of a...transition period that I've been stuck in (boo.) But! I really enjoyed writing this while I had a moment or two of peace, and I really hope you enjoy it :)

Eskel liked to think that he was a smart man. He trained hard, keeping himself in a state to face any foe thrown at him. His bestiary was filled with notes and addendums written in his own hand, filling in the blanks with more detailed descriptions from his encounters. 

But, Eskel was still human. And, just like any human, could be taken down by a swift bonk to the back of the head with a big stick. 

And that’s precisely why Eskel found himself, hours later, kneeling on the floor of some ancient ruins with his hands bound behind his back. His armor had been stripped away, leaving him in his tunic and trousers. His muscles strained as he twisted and flexed his arms to no avail, and he heard a voice filter in from the far corner of the room. 

“Ah, ah. I’m afraid that struggling won’t do you much good,” a man with a voice that nipped at the ends of Eskel’s nerves stepped into the light, “They’re dimeritium. Quite expensive.”

Eskel sighed to himself. Dimeritium severely narrowed his options for escape. Signs were useless, and the man had seemingly trapped Eskel within an invisible barrier that would keep him within the confines of the magic. Eskel took a cursory glance at his surroundings. A small table rested in the corner from which the man had approached, and atop said table were his swords and potion pack.  _ Why would he keep those out? _ Eskel wondered,  _ No matter. Can’t very well force my way out, guess I’ll have to outsmart him.  _

__ He focused his senses, attempting to quell the sounds within the tiny room to listen for others. Eskel couldn’t hear a thing lingering outside of the area, so either this mage had some very silent friends, or was an idiot who decided to take on a Witcher alone. 

Eskel would put his money firmly on the second. 

His attention was swiftly brought back to the mage by a faint jingling as he moved closer to Eskel.  _ Oh, for fu- he didn’t even bother hiding the key.  _

The mage crouched in front of Eskel, resting on the balls of his feet just outside of the invisible barrier and looking Eskel straight in the eyes. “I believe you will serve my purposes well, Witcher.”

Eskel cocked his head to the side with a scrunch of his brow. “Just what are you hoping to get out of this? You’ve already taken all of my stuff, can’t possibly be holding me for ransom. Nobody out there would want me  _ that  _ badly, hmm. Maybe-”

“Enough.” The mage was curt as he spun back to his table. “Your voice is truly grating on my ears, Witcher. Though I must say that it matches the rest of you quite well.”

Eskel narrowed his eyes, having found a way to weasel into the mage’s brain.  _ If he could just keep talking... _ “I have heard that before, my young niece once compared it to that of a dog’s bark.”

The mage hummed, glancing over his shoulder at Eskel before resuming his pilfering through Eskel’s bags. He knew that there wasn’t really anything of import in there,  _ shit except for maybe- _

__ “Sweet Gods, is this a Greater Chernobog Runestone?” The mage breathed, pulling the dark stone into the light.

Eskel sighed and cleared his throat. “That, uh, is exactly correct. I just recently stumbled across it and wanted to add it to my silver sword, but if you wanted to maybe trade-”

The mage barked out a laugh as he stowed the precious stone into his robes. “Or,” he shrugged with a smirk, “I could just take it.”

Eskel nodded, “Or you could just take it. That’s fine. You know, I could show you how to craft runestones of your own-”

“I think that’s quite enough of that.” Eskel whipped his head around to find Geralt dropping from the top of one of the crumbling columns. A few stray pebbles tumbled to the ground as Geralt stood to his full height and unsheathed his sword. 

The mage smiled just a little too wide, stepping forward in Eskel’s direction. He could hear Geralt’s heart, a slow and steady thrum beating across the room into his own chest. The mage’s heart, on the other hand, matched the nervous breaths spilling from his lungs, shallow and shaky. 

As Geralt came around to Eskel’s front he subtly raised a brow,  _ are you alright? _

__ Eskel winked and shrugged,  _ been worse. _

__ Geralt’s hand tightened on his sword. The blade glowed bright blue with runes and inscriptions that flashed with the flex of his wrist. “What did you want with him?”

The mage’s gaze flicked back and forth between the two Witchers. Eskel knew that it wouldn’t be too much longer now, but Geralt sometimes could be, well...dramatic. 

Geralt, right on cue, hummed low in his throat as he took in the quivering mage. “Well?” He asked, “We’re waiting.”

The mage stammered and glanced back to Eskel’s swords on the table. He suddenly reached out towards them and the steel sword flew across the room. The hilt landed firmly into the mage’s outstretched palm and his fingers wrapped around it, and then his shoulder dropped as the immense weight of the sword knocked him off balance. 

“ _ Melitele’s tits, why is this so heavy?”  _ The mage grit his teeth as he tried to swing the sword up and around to meet Geralt, but he was already three steps behind. Geralt stood before him and swung high as the mage screamed, quickly lopping his head off and letting the ruins fall silent once more. 

Eskel sighed as he felt the containment of the invisible barrier dissipate into the air. Geralt knelt at the mage’s side, searching his pockets and untying the key. “Guess we’ll never know what he wanted with me.”

Geralt grunted as he stood back up and walked around behind Eskel. His fingers were warm on Eskel’s wrists while he unlocked the shackles and let them clatter to the floor. Geralt held them there for a heartbeat longer, feeling the blood pumping under his freed skin. Eskel held his breath, more scared now that he’d open his eyes and Geralt would be gone than he had been throughout the entire ordeal with the mage. 

“You were wrong,” Geralt finally rumbled, the vibrations singing through Eskel’s bones. 

Eskel looked over his shoulder, “About?”

“No one wanting you bad enough to come and find you.” Geralt wouldn’t look at him, he just kept his eyes on where his fingers still rested on Eskel’s wrists. Eskel moved his hands up and slowly intertwined their fingers and he felt more than heard the hitch in Geralt’s breath. 

“I’d cross the Continent a thousand times over for you,” Geralt whispered, only barely more than a shaky breath. Eskel closed his eyes and exhaled, letting his body sink back against Geralt’s chest. 

“You shouldn’t have to-”

“But I would. In a heartbeat. I...I’d even go through a portal if it meant finding you again.”

Eskel chuckled at the pained tone in Geralt’s voice, “Never thought I’d hear you say that, Wolf.”

Geralt leaned his head down so that his forehead pressed against the crown of Eskel’s head. He smelled of stale blood and the granite stone beneath them, and orange blossoms and cedar. _Like home._

“You deserve it. Always.”

Eskel moved slowly, turning so that he knelt facing Geralt with their hands still clasped together. “So do you. Thank you, Geralt. For everything.”

He lifted one of his hands to cup the sharp line of Geralt’s jaw. He could feel the couple of days’ worth of stubble scratch his palm and the shiny notch of a crescent scar on his chin. Eskel leaned forward first, close enough to hold their air between them between a single pinch of his fingers. Geralt met him halfway, his free hand finding Eskel’s hip and squeezing softly as their lips finally met. 

Geralt’s lips were chapped and warm between Eskel’s, and he tasted of the dust in the air and pine needles and sweet berries. _Like home._

Eskel slid his hand up and back into Geralt’s hair as he deepened the kiss. Geralt groaned into his mouth as their noses bumped against each other, his fingers tightening their hold on Eskel’s tunic. 

They could’ve stayed there for days, reacquainting themselves after too long apart. But they didn’t. They breathed each other in, their foreheads resting together and their eyes drinking in every inch that they can see. 

“You’re sure that you’re alright?” Geralt murmured, knowing well that they would need to leave before the fast-approaching nightfall.

Eskel nodded, taking one last deep breath of the two of them together. “I am now, Wolf. I am now.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading :) you can find me tumblr @pressedinthepages


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